Despite being two-years older than Marmol, Haren would’ve been a major coup for the Cubs.

He’s started no fewer than 30-games the past 8 seasons, is a 3-time All Star and has twice finished in the Top 10 of the Cy Young Award.

The addition of Haren would’ve improved the Cubs’ rotation immediately and his manageable 1-year contract would’ve also made Haren a valuable trading chip at the July trade deadline–assuming the Cubs were out of the race as expected.

If you’re reading this post I can fairly assume there’s no need to rehash Marmol’s struggles other than to say he’s grown more inefficient and less reliable with age.

Had the trade gone through I wouldn’t have labeled it a total fleecing by the Cubs. Haren has experienced his own setbacks including a nagging back injury and a significant drop in pitch velocity that led to his first ever trip to the DL.

However, there’s no doubt in my mind Chicago was getting the better end of the deal player-for-player wise. The transfer of money between each party appears to be the sticking point in the Cubs pulling the plug late last night.

Even though the trade is off the table, at least for the time being, it’s still encouraging to see the Cubs stay aggressive in its rebuilding efforts.

And seeing as how the Cubs hung Marmol out to try once, it would seem likely they’ll make further attempts to deal him this offseason–but it won’t be easy.

Marmol is still owed $9.8M in 2013, a hefty price tag for a guy who’s made a name for himself walking the bases loaded in close situations, which brings us back to why I was wide-eyed with the news the Angels were accepting Marmol for Haren in the first place.

Another interesting spin-off to this developing story is who the Cubs will turn to at closer if, in fact, Marmol is traded away? Will the Cubs stay with internal options (Dolis, Chapman, etc.) or will we see Team Theo sign/trade for another closer?

I’ve had a gut feeling the Cubs would have a surprising move or two up its sleeve this offseason. Marmol for Haren would’ve easily fit the description. Let’s just hope the next trade whammy actually comes to fruition.